Alibaba’s Ant Financial hires top IPO lawyer

Alibaba's financial affiliate brings in Leiming Chen as general global counsel as it prepares to look beyond China to sustain its heady growth rates.

Ant Financial Services Group, the finance arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has hired veteran lawyer Leiming Chen as global general counsel and senior vice-president in charge of legal and compliance as well as risk management, the company said on Monday.

The company, controlled by Alibaba’s billionaire chairman Jack Ma, wooed Chen from US law firm Simpson Thacher Barlett, where he worked on a variety of landmark equity and debt offerings,...